Denmar Sanitarium

 Denmar Sanitarium was a tuberculosis hospital for African Americans in Denmar, West Virginia. It was established in 1917 by the West Virginia state legislature and closed in 1990. It reopened in 1993 as a state prison.

The sanitarium was located in the town of Denmar, which was previously a lumber town. The Maryland Lumber Company donated the land for the sanitarium when it ceased operations in the early 1900s. The sanitarium was built on a high altitude, which was believed to be beneficial for patients with tuberculosis.

The first patients were admitted to Denmar Sanitarium in January 1919. The facility initially consisted of several buildings that had been used by the lumber company, including a boarding house, a hotel, and a few houses. The sanitarium also had a farm, which provided fresh food for the patients.

In 1937, the West Virginia legislature appropriated funds for a new hospital building at Denmar Sanitarium. The new building was completed in 1939 and was designed to accommodate 200 patients. The old buildings were eventually demolished.

The development of new treatments for tuberculosis led to a decline in the number of patients at Denmar Sanitarium in the 1950s. In 1957, the sanitarium was desegregated and renamed the Denmar State Hospital. It continued to serve patients with tuberculosis until the early 1960s, when new drugs became available that made it possible to treat the disease at home.

Denmar State Hospital closed in 1990. The facility was then acquired by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and converted into a state prison. The prison is still in operation today.

Denmar Sanitarium was an important institution in the history of West Virginia. It was one of the few hospitals in the state that was dedicated to the care of African Americans with tuberculosis. The sanitarium also played a role in the development of new treatments for tuberculosis. Today, the Denmar Correctional Center is a reminder of the history of the sanitarium and the fight against tuberculosis.